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It's a New Era in Manchester

It's Chris Pappas and Eddie Edwards in the 1st District, not Carol Shea-Porter and Frank Guinta.

U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter D-N.H., left, talks with her opponent, former Republican U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta, following her sixth and final debate hosted by WMUR, the New Hampshire Union Leader, The New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. Monday Oct. 27, 2014.

The last congressional primary of note Tuesday set up the first race for New Hampshire’s 1st District in a decade that won’t feature both Democratic Rep. Carol Shea-Porter and former Republican Rep. Frank Guinta.

Any chance for the seemingly eternal grudge match in the swingiest district in the country—the seat went back and forth between the two in each of the past four elections—to continue ended in October when Shea-Porter announced her retirement. Meanwhile, the Boston Globe reported in March that Guinta joined a lobbying firm.

Instead, the open-seat race will feature Executive Councilor Chris Pappas, a Democrat who would be the first openly gay House member from the state, and former South Hampton Police Chief Eddie Edwards, a Republican who would be the first African American from the state to serve in the House.

It’s one of the GOP’s few pick-up opportunities on a map loaded with vulnerable Republican-held seats. If Democrats hold the Manchester-based seat, it would be the party’s first midterm victory there since Shea-Porter’s first election in 2006—which also happens to be the last time a midterm was held under a Republican president.